AQUINO SCRAPS 'PILIPINAS KAY GANDA' / SLOGAN DRAWS LOTS OF FLAK
[PHOTO - THE DOT SLOGAN 'LOGO']
MANILA, NOVEMBER 21, 2010 (STAR) By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) As criticism against "Pilipinas kay Ganda" turned nastier, President Aquino finally decided to drop the newly conceived tourism slogan and hinted at reviving the old "Wow Philippines."
The President said he arrived at the decision after meeting with various stakeholders and with Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim.
"The stakeholders appear unsatisfied. Perhaps it's automatic that it no longer needs fine-tuning, but a replacement that will be more appropriate," Aquino told reporters in Malacañang yesterday after receiving world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
Aquino acknowledged that "Wow Philippines" appears more acceptable to most Filipinos. "Wow Philippines" was the country's tourism battle cry during the previous administration.
The President said he had also asked Lim to submit a blueprint for developing the country's tourism industry.
"I want to review all the details," Aquino said.
On Friday night, the President said he and Lim discussed a number of things, including the details of the overall tourism master plan.
"Maybe some of it I cannot really reveal because we will be embarking on a non-traditional approach in trying to really promote tourism in the country and among them, it's like the recognition of assets that we have," Aquino said Friday in an ambush interview in a Makati City hotel where he graced the alumni homecoming of the University of the Philippines-College of Law.
"I think you will see that there will be a lot of changes and they have submitted to me their overall plan. I also want all of the details of those plans," Aquino said.
Aquino admitted that the image of a tarsier in the "Pilipinas kay Ganda" logo as well as the smiling face were his idea because "I was given something that was a lot plainer than what resulted and there was a deadline that they were working on."
"There are concepts that should have been tested out better. There should have been focus group discussions. There should have been more market research that was mislaid during the launch," he said.
"I understand now that what they were doing was to talk to the stakeholders to get their reaction on something that will seek to differentiate us from all our competitors," he said.
"And then...there appeared to have been changes and those invited also did not understand what should be done that night. There were a lot of errors but it's not too late. It's not too late to rectify it," he added.
The "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" slogan has been bitterly criticized by tourism industry leaders, legislators as well as the general public.
Critics called it bland and said that the fact that it is in the national language, not English, made it incomprehensible to foreigners.
They also said the logo that accompanies it looked strangely similar to the travel logo for Poland.
The scrapping of the slogan was the latest in a series of setbacks suffered by the Tourism Department.
On Tuesday, it had to take down its latest online tourism campaign after critics panned the website and warned that unwary surfers aiming for the site at beautifulpilipinas.com could easily end up on a porn website instead.
The Philippines has been struggling to shake off its image as an unsafe destination after a botched police rescue of foreign tourists seized by a dismissed policeman in August left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
Lim has said he was confident the tourism department would attain its full-year target of 3.3 million arrivals, from just over three million in 2009.
DOT'S 'PILIPINAS KAY GANDA' DRAWS LOTS OF FLAK
By Mayen Jaymalin - The Department of Tourism (DOT) is likely to revise its new slogan "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" amid mounting criticism.
DOT Assistant Secretary Benito Bengzon said the agency is now undertaking consultation concerning the new slogan since it will likely be revised.
"What is important is that the DOT is listening to all comments and we are open to suggestions," Bengzon said, noting that the agency is still not pulling the slogan.
"There is nothing definite yet," Bengzon answered when asked to comment on Secretary Alberto Lim's insinuations that the DOT may totally withdraw the slogan due to mounting criticism.
In a radio interview, Lim said he will meet with President Aquino to discuss the issues about "Pilipinas Kay Ganda."
HERE IS THE URL ON THE ABS-CBN VIDEO 'PILIPINAS KAY GANDA' (embedded codes not available)
Warning: URL may take longer to load or may show 'not responding' due to facebook apps kinks; we suggest give the downloading a minute or 2 as it does respond opening the ABS-CBN video.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/11/17/10/dots-pilipinas-kay-ganda-draws-flak#ooid=s4N3Z0MTrdLEyavLoqJ4ilbx9hESUo8Z
HERE IS THE SHORTENED URL: http://alturl.com/opny7
Lim said, "In case the new slogan is dropped, the DOT is likely to continue using the "WOW Philippines" tag, which was coined by former senator Richard Gordon when he was tourism secretary."
Malacañang, on the other hand, does not see any problem with throwing out the slogan even as DOT Undersecretary Vicente Romano III denied plagiarizing Poland's logo. The new logo drew flak for lack of ingenuity and striking similarities with the logo of Poland.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Lim made it very clear that the Philippines' new tourism brand was not final and that it was good that "national branding" was up for discussion.
Valte said Romano had clarified that there was "no plagiarism" because "there are enough elements in the Pilipinas logo to differentiate it from that of Poland."
"The color scheme and visual elements are markedly different," Romano insisted.
Valte disclosed that there was no instructions yet from the President to check whether there was plagiarism and if the advertising agency, Campaigns and Grey, would be replaced in coming out with a new logo for the Philippines.
Aquino himself announced the introduction of the new logo and lamented that travel warnings against the Philippines were timed with its launching.
The President said he was consulted by the DOT about it and that he suggested that the tarsier and the smiling face be included.
Valte said discussions on the new logo would continue and that all opinions would be considered because "we all have an interest in the national branding" because it would be all about carrying and promoting the country.
She said it was okay if the idea was rejected by some sectors. "This is not unilateral, we will not come out with this and say, this is it, live with it. It's not like that, the opinion of our fellowmen on our national branding will be a big consideration," Valte said, adding that whether the old logo would be retained would still have to be studied.
DOT should feel the people's pulse
Meanwhile, Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)-Public Affairs Committee (PAC) chairman Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez yesterday said the DOT should listen to the public's comments on their new slogan.
"They (DOT) should listen to the feedback and try to consider it. Maybe there are other ideas and suggestions so they should be open to the public," said Iniguez.
He admitted that he has not yet seen the new slogan of the DOT. But he would favor any slogan for as long as it would result to giving positive attention to the country. Among those who openly criticized the "Pilipinas Kay Ganda!" slogan were Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero. – With Evelyn Macarian, Aurea Calica
ONLINE RECTIONS
Netizens pose alternatives to 'Pilipinas Kay Ganda' abs-cbnNEWS.com Posted at 11/18/2010 9:37 PM | Updated as of 11/20/2010 1:20 PM
MANILA, Philippines - A deluge of criticisms welcomed the Department of Tourism's (DOT) supposedly trial slogan "Pilipinas Kay Ganda." So, the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) asked its social media friends to think of an alternative catchphrase.
Most of our social media friends are still insisting on keeping the old "WOW Philippines" slogan, including Dennis Gacad who said, "why fix it when it ain't broke?"
Jun Lopez, however, used the old phrase, revised it, and suggested "Wow, ang ganda ng Pilipinas."
Jun reasons out, at least the phrase contains an English word that will be understood by foreigners.
Kristel Angeli Morales, however, says, why not use a word that most foreigners already know, like "mabuhay!" Kristel insists the word also connotes the hospitable nature of the Filipinos.
Boikas Hamamas agrees. He says we should use the people and our culture to promote the country. Boikas therefore suggests, "Feel the Philippines." Boikas want tourists to experience the country's culture and people.
Twitter user @Choserful meanwhile recommends, "Enjoy Philippines" simply because foreigners will enjoy their stay here, thanks to the country's top shelf tourist destinations.
Tess Manimtim for her part suggests, "Philippines, islands of wonders, country of smiles."
And while almost everyone proposes the use of words that foreigners will understand, Adrian Daguro recommends, "Magandang Pilipinas". Adrian says, it sounds more nationalistic.
Lex Baay, meantime, still can't let go of the "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" slogan. Lex suggests "Philippines Chuvaloo" arguing it's no different from the DOT's slogan which foreigners also won't understand.
Annabelle Agupitan offers the phrase, "I love the Philippines". Annabelle says the phrase is fitting because whatever happens in the country, there are still many visitors who love the Philippines.
And finally, we have JP Dizon's suggestion, which a lot of our social media friends liked. JP's catchphrase to promote the country: "Only in the Philippines." -- report from ANC
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